UNION INTERNATIONALE DES TELECOMMUNICATIONS INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION UNIÓN INTERNACIONAL DE TELECOMUNICACIONES Montpellier, 17 November 1994 New frontiers and the space between IDATE 94 Conference Closing address by Pekka Tarjanne Secretary General of the ITU Mr. Chairman, Ladies and gentlemen, 1. It is an honour and a privilege to address this important international conference at this very juncture when the "present" is meeting the "future", when the telecommunications and information technology revolution is shaping the information society worldwide and blurring the traditional frontiers. I wish to congratulate this eminent international forum which has ever since 1979 attracted the ITU's special interest. Known for its initiatives and research studies conducted over more than a decade, it brings into focus different dimensions of the telecommunication environment (industrial, legal, economic, technical and sociological). IDATE has made itself a reference point for strategic analysis; it provides better understanding of telecoms phenomena and, it gives an opportunity to industrial leaders, politicians and researchers, service providers and users to project their views on how to meet the challenges of the information society of tomorrow. 2. The topics presented and the discussions we have heard encourage me to subscribe to the "vision" as you have painted it during the last two days. I am pleased to observe many convergent views with those that ITU Members expressed recently on the occasion of our Plenipotentiary Conference which successfully completed its work in Kyoto, just one month ago. The convergence of information technology, multimedia and telecommunications, requires strategic plans and solutions adapted to a new environment that will bring people together and eliminate barriers. One may consider telecommunications as a process and/or as a leading agent of change, as a permanent challenge. With its high innovative potential and diversifying vitality it is a unique source of renewal, a generator of harmony - and also a motor of turbulence - in many aspects of contemporary life. Its technological vigour with applications of global dimensions is affecting traditional lifestyles and cultures in making the human being more visible, but also more exposed. Increased flows of information affect traditional political processes as well as social structures, economic activities, business opportunities, education and generally the way people think. Your themes, as outlined, are very illustrative examples of how old practices are no longer efficient and old models no longer fit reality. 3. In the past there was very little reason to be concerned about the social impacts of telecommunications because they were generally and uniformly positive. Telecommunications promoted economic development and helped create jobs, facilitated social communications and improved emergency services and disaster relief. In recent years, there has been a growing concern that the impacts of advances in telecommunications might not be all that positive. Job losses, invasion of personal privacy resulting from innovations and some other telecommunications phenomena might disturb and even irritate people. But again, the same people are potential citizens of a global village, where they should be offered an easy link to each other and access to the information they want. The implications of access to telecommunication services for basic human rights has become an important new frontier for analysis and inquiry. In today's world telecommunications and democracy seem to be "inseparable". Today we are witnessing a variety of approaches across the globe, aiming at restructuring, modernizing and liberalizing the telecommunication sector within the framework of a broader development perspective. Reform waves are rolling over ever more countries, adapting their format to the particular socio-economic environment and generating new opportunities for better communications and wide-spread knowledge. The scope is enormous for ambitious efforts in order to coordinate telecoms policy, strategic planning and regulatory arrangements within the new reality of enhanced competition and private sector participation. 4. Private investment is attracted by business opportunities, sound business principles and market-oriented telecommunication practices. New operators, service providers and other organizations dealing with telecommunications are able to demonstrate an early profitability and high degree of self- financing investment potential. Globally, it is indispensable to build an attractive, stable and positive environment for development on good regulatory foundations, which would protect and promote social objectives in a competitive environment. Those parts of the market where monopolies prevail are expected to become the exception rather than the rule. The limits on market access which are currently in force for reasons of history, efficiency, universal service, network economies or national sovereignty - will be further eroded. Partnership with the private sector addresses equipment manufacturers and service providers, financial institutions and user associations within the telecommunications sector. The concept of partnership has two dimensions: first: direct involvement in the telecommunication development process at national levels, and, second : multilateral cooperation through enhanced participation in the activities of ITU. There is an absolute need to integrate the convergent forces in order to respond to the major challenges that global telecommunication development imposes in extending or bypassing frontiers wherever they still may exist. 5. The rapid development and convergence of telecommunications, computer, broadcasting and information technology are redefining the boundaries of the telecommunication industry, giving rise to new products and service opportunities, and posing new questions for government policy-makers and regulators. The development of advanced terrestrial and satellite-mobile communication systems as well as the development of multimedia communication systems will raise the questions of priorities and the manner in which the benefits of these systems can be extended to developing countries. Telecommunication consortia worldwide are emerging as a result of alliances or mergers between national operators with the appearance of entirely new systems, in particular mobile-satellite networks intended to provide global coverage through portable, hand-held terminals. They have the potential to change fundamentally the nature of international telecommunications. 6. The question of how policies for global telecommunication systems should be harmonized will be one of the most important and difficult issues that ITU will be facing during the next plenipotentiary period. The ITU will continue to provide a forum for developing technical and operational standards for global systems, and for allocating frequency spectrum to their services. The exchange of technical information and regulatory experiences will assist national policy choices regarding infrastructure alternatives, the role of competition, licensing and adaptation of the regulatory regimes. Technological progress and the globalization of telecommunication operations have unified world financial, currency and commodity markets in "real-time" trading systems and changed the distribution of work between developed and developing countries in the manufacturing and service sectors. Participants in the recently-concluded Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations saw telecommunications as the key to expanding trade in services, as well as to improving trade efficiency in other sectors. These trends are leading to the development of telecommunications- related decisions in other international organizations, most notably in the new World Trade Organization (WTO). In performing its leading role, the ITU must coordinate its activities with them in pursuit of mankind's common goals. 7. In the world of those who have and those who don't have yet, telecommunication development should no longer be viewed solely in terms of assistance provided from developed to developing countries. It must be seen in the much broader context of sustainable global development. Through this perspective, the development of telecommunications is interdependent with other elements of economic and social development. They are mutually reinforcing and should be pursued in ways that preserve and enhance the natural and human environment while ensuring universal access to at least basic telecommunication services as a fundamental objective. A decade ago, the Maitland Commission suggested to the ITU that this goal should be reached by the year 2000. There have been notable advances in some developing countries, but very little progress in the fifty or so least developed countries (LDCs). Overall, the gap between the developed and developing worlds has widened beyond the visible frontiers. Closing the development gap between the LDCs and other developing countries, and between the developed and developing world, will require a concerted effort among ITU Members, public and private sector and between the ITU and other international and regional organizations. 8. Today, the ITU is the only international organization with a thorough technical knowledge of telecommunications, not only because Member countries are represented by telecommunication administrations, but because the world's leading suppliers of telecommunication goods and services participate so actively. As a result of the changes that have taken place in the structure of the world telecommunication sector, public policies and legislative frameworks, the regulatory institutions are now playing a more decisive role. In order to strengthen its mission in the area of telecommunication policy, law and regulation, the ITU is positioning itself as a credible partner to service providers and equipment manufacturers who are driving the development of telecommunications worldwide and to the private investors and public institutions that possess the financial resources needed for implementation of infrastructure, economic and social development programmes. 9. The Kyoto Plenipotentiary Conference was a turning point in defining the Union's general strategic approach on how to address these fundamental challenges. For the first time, the Conference adopted a single document setting out strategies and priorities for the Union in an ever changing environment. The main decisions of the Conference are translated through: - the enhanced participation of industry and other organizations in ITU sectoral activities; - broadening the scope of activities through stronger involvement in the policy domain; - increasing the Union's leverage; and - putting greater focus on development. Following the need for constant review of the Members' own telecommunication policies and legislation and for coordination with other partners in the rapidly changing telecommunication environment, the Plenipotentiary Conference set up a new World Telecommunication Policy Forum which will allow ITU members to discuss telecommunications policy issues, but will not result in prescriptive regulatory outcomes. Key priorities in the 1995-1999 timeframe are the strategic alliances that need to be set up with other international and regional organizations with an important influence on the development of telecommunications. At the international level, cooperation with the new WTO, OECD, the World Bank and UNESCO should be a priority. The ITU Development mission must accelerate its performances due to the huge volume of urgent needs. The Buenos Aires Action Plan, adopted last March by the World Telecommunication Development Conference, could not be implemented without a joint effort by the whole international community. The work programme, with its far reaching objectives, needs to be implemented as a matter of urgency within available resources in coordination with all development partners. 10. Kyoto made an important step towards further opening and enhanced transparency of the organization. The implementation of the purposes of the Union as set out in its Constitution and Convention fundamentally depend on the association of the private sector, enhanced and complementary participation of non- administrations, entities and organizations. This in turn, requires continued consultation with industry participants in order to ensure that their contributions are rewarded by effective results. The partnership in the future between the public and private sectors is a logical evolution and therefore a fundamental ITU strategic premise. The Kyoto Conference opened up new horizons. In responding to the changing roles and needs of governments and the global communications industry, the Spirit of Kyoto recognized that the barriers and boundaries of the past are fast disappearing. It is my hope that global telecommunications will help create a truly global village where there are no barriers to the flow of information, where the boundaries of knowledge are the only frontiers and where creativity is our common journey and destination. Thank you. 4